David Gray faces pressure ahead of Hibs cup clash
David Gray is walking straight into the noise rather than away from it.
Hibernian’s head coach knows exactly what is being said about him after a stuttering start to the season, but with a Premier Sports Cup quarter-final trip to Dingwall looming, he has little interest in self-pity. The equation is brutally simple: beat League 1 side Ross County on Saturday and Hibs are in the last four. Lose, and the scrutiny sharpens.
Under pressure, but unflinching
Back-to-back Premiership defeats to Heart of Midlothian and St Johnstone have darkened the mood at Easter Road. Missing out on a prime opportunity to reach the Conference League only added to the sense of a campaign drifting off course before it has properly settled.
Gray is under pressure in the early stages of what is now his third season in charge. He doesn’t pretend otherwise.
"That's the life of a football manager," he said. "You're judged on results and that doesn't change. If I'd won three or four games in a row, I'd still put pressure on myself to be better every day.
"If you think you've completed it and stand still, football has a way of changing very quickly, both in a positive way and a negative way."
He has lived the harsher side of that already. At the start of his managerial career, Hibs won just one of his first 15 league games. The Easter Road board kept faith then, but Gray is clear that those were different times.
"Malky [Mackay, sporting director] was also just in the door in terms of the structure and the transitional period that the club was in at that time," he said.
Now, the club is more settled, the structure bedded in, the expectations higher.
"Would I have expected [criticism] to come on quicker now because we're a bit more settled and we've had time to do things? Naturally. I'm not averse to criticism, I'm not shying away from it.
"I'm certainly not put off by it in terms of feeling sorry for myself. If anything, it's the opposite."
Hampden in sight
For all the noise, Saturday brings clarity. Win, and Hibs are one step from Hampden.
The club have not reached a semi-final since November 2023, when they lost to Aberdeen in this same competition. Gray was part of Nick Montgomery’s coaching staff that night. Now it is his name on the line.
"When we spoke about challenges and objectives at the start of the season, getting to Hampden was right at the very top of the list," he said.
"If I allow the noise to affect what we're doing or distract me in any way then you just go under in that situation.
"I've been through adversity before and the focus is simply that we need to make sure we win.
"The form and everything else doesn't matter this weekend. It's about making sure everyone knows the job in hand, which is a real chance to get to Hampden."
It is not a free hit. It is an obligation.
Dangerous opponents, lower league
On paper, a League 1 opponent offers relief. In reality, Ross County look anything but comfortable opposition.
Relegated from the Championship, they have responded by staying full-time, keeping their core together and setting about the new season with purpose. They are unbeaten in the league, playing with the confidence of a side that expects to win.
Veteran striker Brian Graham already has nine goals this term, one of them in a home draw with Dundee during the group stage of this competition. He remains a problem that defences at any level must solve.
"They've stayed full-time and kept their core together," Gray said of the Highland club. "It wouldn't surprise me if they found themselves back in the Premiership again with the infrastructure, players and management team they've got.
"They've started the season really well, they're used to winning games and they'll be playing with confidence. That adds to the challenge we've got."
So the picture is clear. A manager under fire, a cup tie away to a lower-league side that behaves nothing like one, and a route to Hampden that Hibs cannot afford to waste.
If Gray wants to quieten the criticism, Dingwall is exactly where it has to start.
